What is that saying about success? Preparedness meets opportunity? Well, I guess I met opportunity when I first clicked into Fooldom. I was immediately filled with hope. For a year or more I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep in front of the computer reading everything in Fooldom into the early morning hours. As I came to trust the Gardners, I invested. I e-mailed a thank you to them and they both wrote back. I went to a book signing wearing my Fool cap. I even had on my Fool boxers and considered showing everyone but couldn't get up the nerve.

I learned how to invest. That was something new to my family. Too risky we thought. My parents' life savings sat in CDs all of those years because it was safe. Mom trusted my judgment as did my brother. I was careful. The Dogs of the Dow still hold a major position. The rest is history.

Now the guilt part. A lot of friends are out there working hard and trying to figure out how to prepare for retirement. They're into mutual funds, lottery tickets, investment schemes like off-shore loans, letters of credit, all kinds of stuff. I want to stand up and scream, "Hey, do you have a computer? Do you read? Ever heard of The Motley Fool? It is so easy. If I, just a carpet cleaner, can do it, it can't be too hard!"

I need to tell all of my friends and customers about my good fortune, but I don't mean to brag. So I don't throw numbers around. I just quietly suggest how helpful the brothers have been. If I did mention my own success in numbers, it would be almost unbelievable, except for us Fools. But I do want others to share in this wonderful time.